Of Love and Pudding
by starlightserenity
Summary: When Hope finally asks Lightning out, she says yes. But there's always a catch. Hope has to complete her challenge within 7 days or be single, FOREVER.
1. Chapter 1

It was another morning at Coocon Academy, the finest school in all of Coocon. The pristine courtyard was filled with laughter, friendship, and romance. Except for one student we know as Hope Estheim.

He was wearing the typical navy blue uniform that designated one as a first year, first years being the only ones to wear the uniform except on inspection days. A sharp top with one buttoned breast pocket and short collar. He preferred his top tucked into his pants as the dress code recommended. His favorite color? Silver. His favorite food? Sirloin steak, medium rare, topped with mushrooms. Favorite Pokémon? Jolteon.

He sat on one of the many stone benches and saw her. Her being none other than Lightning Farron, third-year, second highest in her class, and, to him, the most beautiful girl in the world. She wore the red blazer that marked her as a member of the Student Council, a white low cut top with a black miniskirt, her trademark black knee-high boots, and her strawberry blonde hair tied into its usual side ponytail. Favorite color? Rose blush pink. Favorite food? An Eclair with coffee filling. Favorite Pokémon? Zebstrika.

"Today's the day," he said to himself, "I'm going to tell her that I-"

Hope was grabbed violently from behind, knocking the wind from him. As the pair of hands gripped him to the point of gasping for air, he heard his assailant's voice, "hiya there Hope!"

His body felt like it was being crushed like a tin can in a trash compactor. "Van...ille...you're.. gahhh!"

"Oops. Sorry, Hope," Vanille apologized, "I'm stronger than you thought, huh?"

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing his midsection, "you should lay off on the death hugs, you're gonna kill someone one of these days."

She smiled, "its my specialty, you know."

Vanille dia Oerba, a first year dressed in the same top as he was, a pleated navy blue skirt, and a fur pelt around her waist made of what she called a "Bear" that she was known for killing in a hugging match, but Hope had never heard of nor seen such a beast before he met her. Her favorite color was the same as her hair, orange and pigtailed. Her favorite food? Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups inside. Her favorite Pokémon? Vanillish. Her least favorite is Ursaring.

Vanille sat down next to him and crossed her legs. "So what's so interesting?"

Hope flinched, but settled down quickly. This was Vanille he was talking to, she knew everything about him, being friends and neighbors since she moved to Cocoon eight years ago. "Well you know how I like Lightning, right?" He whispered into her ear.

Vanille knew all about his crush on Lightning, he would keep her up late into the night texting her about it. "Of course, Hope," she whispered back "did you-"

"No," He said flatly, "But I'm going to today."

"Oh," she was a bit disappointed, but at the same time, happy. "Well you know, she's a bit of a dom, dontcha think?"

His face lit up. "Yeah, its one of the things that makes her so great. She's so smart and confident"

Vanille bit her lip. "Well then, why not tell her now?" She stood up, grabbed Hope by the hand, and pulled him up. "Come on now, don't be shy! Just tell her, if she likes you, great! If not, then I'm sure you'll find someone else!"

"But Vanille..."

"No butts about it! Now get going, mister!"

Hope gave one more look of pure hopelessness at Vanille, who raised him a look of odious contempt. Knowing when to fold them, he set off across the courtyard.

Vanille sat back down and watched him, all the while wondering what he saw in her.

Lightning was sitting with her group of friends, enjoying her morning coffee, two sugar, one cream, and talking about how her sister was disappearing and showing up several hours later. Afterward she would talk of things like "Paradoxes" and her imaginary friend "Noel" that only her boyfriend would believe.

Hope approached her much like a kitten would an unfamillar object, shaking and inching a little bit at a time.

Lighting's group stopped talking. "May I help you?" She asked.

Hope flinched, and tried to regain his composure. He stood up straight and said "I-"

A few moments later...

Vanille sprang up as Hope returned. "So how'd it go?" She asked with her usual chipperness.

Hope once again stood straight up, and with a proud look declared, "I'm now part of the student council."

Vanille facepalmed.

**A/N:**

Hello everyone and welcome to "Of Love and Pudding"!

I'm sorry, there won't be any pokemon battles, this isn't a crossover. That is a good idea though. Maybe later on...

I list their favorite pokemon as sneaky puns. Why is Hope's favorite the "Lightning" pokemon? Lightning's got a electric zebra, doesn't that remind you of something? I think Vanille and Vanillish (or Vanille-ish) would make an awesome team!

There's some in their favorite foods and colors too, but I don't expect anyone to figure it out instantly.

Also, comments for praise are welcome.

Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Lunchtime at Cocoon Academy...

Hope sat at the usual table, the one with "Aerith X Tifa 4 evar" in a heart and arrow carved into it, next to the window that opened into the courtyard. He was waiting for Vanille to come back with their lunch. He stared out the window and thought about the morning's events.

Earlier...

Hope stood straight up, faced Lightning and said, "I...uh..I like..." he tried to say it, but sadly his Courage wasn't high enough yet. He was only at "Average" and needed to be at "Heroic".

Lightning caught on quickly. "You want to join the Student Council, right?"

Hope's ears started burning up. Trying to think his way out of this he responded, "Uh, yeah! That's it."

Her face lit up. "Great. We've been looking for another first year. The last one we tried to get to join, Radgar, didn't want the responsibility."

"Oh yeah," he replied, "he's my roomate."

"Is he now?" She reached into her bag and pulled a skinny folder marked as "First Year Representative" and handed it to him. "Please read the guidelines listed inside and fill out the form, and remember to have it signed by at least one teacher as your recommendation. The meeting is at three today in the theater."

"Thanks?" He said unsure of what had happened.

Lunchtime...

Still unsure of what he was getting himself into, he spotted Vanille coming in with a large box.

"Its pizza time!" Vanille squealed at a pitch that made several dogs down the street howl.

She set down the pizza she ordered from the place downtown, 7th Heaven Pizzaria. They had a cute delivery boy, but he was saying something about "Sins" and "Sephiroth" so she figured he had a girlfriend already.

"Thanks, Vanille. But what's this for?" Asked Hope.

"Oh nothing," she smirked wryly, picking up a fork, "but I don't know what you're gonna eat!"

Vanille eagerly dug into the pizza as Hope watched on in shear terror. Some people are afraid of the dark, of spiders, or even drowning, but those seemed as unreasonable as a fear of fluffy bunnies in comparison to the fifty kilo girl eating.

"Now, hold up there missy," came a voice that made Vanille jump. "Yer' not even eatin' it right!"

It was Oerba yun Fang, member of Track and Field and the Hunting club. She held the record for both the javelin throw and high jump. She wore a simple black shirt, and brown leather jacket with patched jeans. Her favorite color was purple. Her choice of pokémon? Hydreigon, naturally. Favorite food? Pudding. Flavor? In her words: "Puddin' is puddin' and there ain't a damn thing you can do about it."

She grabbed Vanille by the scruff of her neck, causing her to drop her fork. "Yeah, yer' gonna squrim! Serves you right. Eatin' pizza with a fork, its a downright shame."

Hope watched as the two prattled on about proper pizza etiquette. He cautiously stretched his arm toward the box. Closer... a little more... "doing!" The metal prongs of Vanille's fork dug deep into the wooden table in a feat of throwing that both shocked and intrigued him.

Fang let go and Vanille eased back into her seat and resumed eating, properly this time. Fang sat down and pulled a pudding cup from her pocket. She then pulled from her specially designed left breast pocket a utensil. In one swift movement, she had the foil removed and was happily eating.

Hope looked at the utensil, which on closer inspection was a silver spork with an emerald planted into the handle. Something was written on it with gold lettering, but he couldn't quite make it out.

"Hey Fang," he began, "what's with the spork? What's it say on it"

Fang beamed as she she explained it to him. "See, this is a special utensil, never call it a 'spork', its bad luck. It was carved from the Fal'cie Ixion's horn! Made specially for eatin' puddin', it was shared among the Oerba for generations."

"You all shared one utensil, an entire town, that was made for pudding?"

"Don't you know, boy? We Oerba share everythin'. This shirt? Vanille's. These pants? Vanille's." Vanille gave a nod of confirmation and continued eating. "But that's not the point. The point is that this utensil has the full power of a Fal'cie."

"And what does that do?"

"Makes eatin' puddin' sure damn hard."

The first bell rung and Fang cleaned the bottom of her cup with her finger. Feeling satisified that both the cup and her finger were clean, she tossed away the cup and said her goodbyes.

Hope's stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten yet. With the rest of the day before him he was a bit worried.

"Here," said Vanille handing him the last slice of pizza, "I'm sorry I ate the rest, but you should eat something."

He took the slice and hurried out of the lunch room after giving a quick "thanks."

Vanille threw away the box while saying a soft, "you're welcome."

After Class...

The theater, mostly used for recreation during non class time, was used every Thursday by the Student Council. It contained one hundred fifty seats and a small wooden stage before the screen.

At three Hope was there, ready to begin his first day.

The six officers, making up the Executive Board or Top Six as they were commonly called, sat before him. He knew Lightning was the Secretary, and that Jihl was President, but everyone else was new to him.

Jihl Nabaat was the "everywoman" that everyone wants to be in politics but knew they weren't. She was poor until adopted by the Director. She rose to the top of her class in a few short months and was exceedingly popular. Even as she stood to call the meeting to order, her tall stature and lengthy platinum blonde hair reeked of power.

She sat back down, with all the dignity and grace of a queen. Her tortiseshell glasses almost sparkling, the red blazer and white top with a loose black tie, her black skirt with matching tights, and conservative heels all showed that this woman was the first and foremost authority. Favorite food? Miracle Whip. Favorite color? Deep green. Favorite pokémon? Starmie.

"Lightning, if you would please read the minutes of the last meeting?" She asked, her words laced with the slightest hint of venom.

Hope swore he heard Lightning respond with "I'm no one's slave." Before she gave her report.

The meeting continued with Hope catching little bits about how their bi-weekly allowance of credit chips were too bulky and that the archery club would be getting new bows. Hope noticed that Jihl and Lightning were stealthily trading blows the whole time.

The meeting was ajourned. The rest of the members had left, leaving only him, Jihl, and Lightning. This was his chance! If only Jihl would leave he could...

"Good day, Lightning, I'll be expecting those minutes by Monday" said Jihl, her last words had a forceful tone. She stepped out of the room, taking her air of superiority with her.

Hope remembered a quote he heard somewhere. "Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to write your story! Your fate is in your hands!" He didn't know where it came from, he only knew that he was a cool guy. It gave him courage.

"Hey Lightning," he started, "I-"

She turned to him with a look of disgust. "You're still here? Look kid, I know why you came today, I'm not stupid."

Hope gulped. His ears started burning again. Did she really know already? He never told anyone besides Vanille! Would she? No. She wouldn't do that. But...

"I know you're only here because you like-"

**A/N:**

What? You really think that I would just tell you? Please.

Thanks to Forever Wishing and Gatoreater. I'll be using Radgar and Maria as Hope and Lightning's roomates. As for everyone else, there's still more to come, so don't worry. Although I am sorry that I left the window open for such a short amount of time, so from now on I'll give a week's time before picking. Or at least I'll try.

Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed. Keep them coming!


	3. Chapter 3

Hope arrived back at his dorm soon after the meeting was over. He lived in dorm 03L, a mixed dorm of all years. It was pretty run down, with exposed pipes, shoddy couches, crappy bunks, and terrible showers that were constantly clogged, but to the men who called it home, it was beautiful. Holding forty on each floor, it was also the second smallest dorm on campus.

The whole of dorm 03 was divided into two halves, Upper and Lower. The boys were in lower and the girls in upper. It was also divided into two bays, East and West.

In each dorm there was a person assigned to clean and maintain each room, called room leaders. There were also five people in charge of keeping order among the students, called Top Five.

Hope opened the door to the dayroom, finding the usual crowd watching tv on the main screen, he proceeded into East bay to his room, D-East.

His room, like all the others except one, had six people residing on three bunks. Opening the door and stepping in he found his roomate and room leader resting in his bed.

Radgar Johnson was a pretty cool guy by Hope's standards. It wasn't very often a first year made room leader, and he was very adamant about keeping the room as relaxed as possible, while still remaining within school conduct. Mostly because he would get into the occasional brawl too. He was smart, but bad with numbers, so every now and again Hope would tutor him. His favorite color was sky blue, like the kind his favorite pokémon, Charizard would fly through. He also liked wonton noodle soup with a side of shrimp dumplings.

Hope climbed on to his bunk and tried to get comfortable, but the mattress pad he had sunk into the middle. He was still thinking about what happened earlier. He tried calling Vanille for comfort, but she didn't pick up, then texting but he couldn't wait any longer.

"Radgar." he called, hoping that he would understand. As a leader, it was expected of him to avoid conflict, but Hope knew he would listen, even if he didn't get it.

Radgar looked up from his game of Pokémon towards Hope from his bottom bunk. "Yeah, man?"

"So this thing happened today, can you hear me out?"

He sat up and smiled, "Of course."

Elsewhere...

Lightning lived in Dorm 06L. It was exclusive to the best girls on campus, being one of the cleanest and most pleasant dorms to live in. It held twenty girls on the lower level, and sixty above. It was divided into North and South bay, with the lower half split into the Counciling Offices. Two rooms had four bunks, and one with four.

Lightning walked into her room, B-North, set down her bag, and saw her friend and roomate playing on her DS.

Maria Cummings, a girl who was short for a third year, known for her light brown hair, which was normally tied into a neat ponytail with her signature golden ribbon, and for throwing Snow through a window because he interrupted her Battle Tower streak. She wore a light blue skirt that matched her eyes and was her favorite color, white tights, and a pink vest with a short sleeved white shirt underneath. Her favorite food? Fudge brownies with vanilla ice cream and some hot cocoa to wash it down. She had a full team of her favorite pokémon, but her favorite was Milotic.

Lightning knew she was pretty shy, but someone who she could talk to. "Hey 'Ria." She started

Maria jumped. She was in the middle of catching a particularly stubborn Articuno and didn't see or hear Lightning come in. "Y-Yes?" She replied a bit shaken, her hand over her thumping heart, "dear me, Light. You scared me."

"I'm sorry," she laughed. Maria was known to be a bit jumpy whenever she was really in the zone. "But I need some advice."

"Sure, I'll do what I can."

Elsewhere... again...

Vanille stayed in Dorm 03U. It was the cleanest dorm around, and by far the most decorated, the awards they received each month were proof. Even Weiss the Immaculate would be proud.

But today Vanille had mixed feelings. You could almost see the scribbly hanging over her head in frustration as she rested in her bottom bunk.

"Doo do do doo do doo doo do dooooo!" She heard her cell ring, but she wasn't going to answer it. It rung again, vibrating madly in hopes of being noticed. Then the soft chirping of a text.

She had a terrible day, and her mind was torn in every direction, a storm cloud blocking her sunny disposition.

Earlier...

"I know you're only here cause you like Jihl!" Said Lightning. She crossed her arms and continued "that's just like you first years, only here for the eye candy. You sick little pervert! And another thing-" she continued.

Hope felt his heart tear like it had been ripped from his chest. She had it all wrong! Jihl was... he didn't actually know, but she wasn't anything to him.

"LightningIreallylikeyoulots." He blurted out.

She stopped talking and turned to him, a look of suprise washed over her face. What had he done? Of course she would be suprised! She didn't even know him!

No.

Now was the time to be a man. Just like that one guy, the one with the sunglasses and weird coat. But all he could remember was "Your pain will be two-fold!"

"Yeah, that's right. I do like you."

Lightning eased up a bit. "Time for your lesson schoolboy," she began "you don't go around telling girls you just met that you like them."

Again Hope felt the pain, with the ripping, and the tearing, and the overwhelming saddness.

"But, since you've got the balls to come out like that... In one week the school festival will start, that's next Friday, impress me by then and you've got yourself a date."

Hope nearly had a heart attack. Was this really happening? It wasn't some sick joke?

Lightning stepped over to him and gave him a pinch, softly, but sure. "No, you're not dreaming." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small knife "here, its a show of my promise." She handed him the knife and silently walked out of the theater.

Hope stood there a few moments, mouth agape, in sheer shock.

He woke up about an hour later, to Vanille shaking him.

"Hope! Hope!" She was screaming, "oh dear. Anima, another one's died on me! Okay, just calm down Vanille. Remember what Fang always said."

She did her best impression of Fang, "Oh Anima, another one? Here, lemme help you dump the body. Easy now, we wouldn't want to leave any evidence! We Oerba share everything, so if we get caught yer' takin' the blame."

Hope sprung awake and hugged Vanille.

"Oh thank heavens! I thought I was gunna have to leave town again!" she said.

Hope gripped her tighter, and she couldn't help but blush as his head pressed against her chest.

"Why Hope, this is so sudden." She said shyly, like the girl in that movie she watched.

"Yeah, you'll never believe what happened! She's giving me a week!"

"A week? Did she decide to put a restraining order on you?"

"No. She said if I can impress her by next week, she'll go the the festival with me!"

Vanille felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She felt her lunch protesting deep down. But she held it in, and smiled fakely. "Oh Hope that's wonderful." She said bittersweetly.

"I know, thank you Vanille!" He grabbed her again. "If it wasn't for you, none of this would have happened!"

"That's right," she replied softly, "none of it."

Hope and Vanille walked each other back to the dorm and hugged goodbye.

Later...

"Dude, that's so awesome," said Radgar after Hope finished, "but the fainting thing was sad."

"Yeah." he agreed.

"So, how are you gonna impress Lightning? I hear, that to date her sister, Snow had to go down to Pulse and fight an Adamantoise and bring back one of it's tusks!"

"I dunno. But you said Snow did it, right? So I'll ask him tomorrow."

Radgar gave his trademark smirk. "Yeah. Lightning's totally hot, man!"

In 06L...

"So that's that." Lightning finished.

"Aww!" Maria squealed "that's cute, and I know you wouldn't break a promise!"

"Of course not. But a targets' a target. He's only got seven days."

"And what will you have him do?"

"I dunno 'Ria, guess I'll get ready for next time he comes around"

With that Maria set back down to catch that pesky Articuno and Lightning set down to think of a plan.

A/N:

None of you saw that coming. If you did, tell me. But I'll still call you a liar. Even I didn't know when I wrote the last chapter, hence the cliffhanger.

To Forever Wishing and Gatoreater, did I do your characters right? I hope I did. Tell me when you're not wishing or eating alligators.

A big thanks to XxThe-Crimson-Chaos-Of-FatexX who gave me the idea. I recommend "Decode" to anyone who ever wondered what Lightning would be like if she was pregnant.

Let's make a deal, my readers. I really like all the comments I've been getting and your support, but I'd like some help on my story. Is all my punctuation and grammar correct? Does the plot make sense? Is my spelling right? Please review and tell me so that I can help to make reading easier on your eyes.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Later, around 9 P.M.

Maria had caught her Articuno, after a reset and a bit of silent cursing. She had a few questions buzzing around in her mind. It was really weird of Lightning to agree to date a guy she didn't even know. It was really weird of Lightning to go on a date, but still.

After a bit of thought, she asked, "Lightning, I uh" she didn't know Lightning that well, so she had a bit of trouble.

Lighting looked up from the notebook she was writing in. "Yes 'Ria?"

Maria bit her lip, hoping she wouldn't get mad. "You said you'd take that boy to the festival. Does that mean you like him?"

"There's a difference between a date and liking someone." She replied coolly. It was nearing bedtime, so she got up and switched off the light.

Maria glared at her. "So you're just leading him along?"

"No, I'm giving him a date. Its more than I got from my first crush." Lightning's eyes grew distant. "You ever get rejected?"

Maria reached over and grabbed her Milotic plushie. She squeezed it tight in an attempt to put some space between her and the flashback she knew was coming. "Well, I um... this one... no."

Lightning sighed. "You know, there's such a thing as being too shy. Anyways, its only one date. Then he'll have his story and can move on with his life." She pulled out her Blitzle plushie and cuddled with it after getting into her covers.

Maria gave a "whew" and eased up on the poor Milotic plush. She was really worried about a flashback there, but luckily it was avoided. She curled up next to her plushie and fell asleep.

In 03L...

Hope had finished readying for bed. He was busy helping Radgar with some tricky problems. But Hope still had a question that needed to be answered.

"Radgar, Lightning told me that you were invited to the Student Council at one point."

Hope's eyes widened in fear as he realized what he had done. Radgar put down his pencil and his eyes grew distant as he placed his finger and thumb on his chin. Hope rushed to his bed and yanked his Jolteon plush down. Clutching it for dear life, he prepared for what was to come.

"It all started when..." he started, "nah! Just kidding Hope!" He gave usual chuckle. It was a chuckle that had the power to get him out of a lot of troublesome situations.

Hope breathed a sigh of relief, it was just Radgar joking again. For a second there he was afraid of a flashback.

"I was invited, twice. But its so stuffy in there, you know? At that time Jihl and Lightning were nice to each other so those meetings lasted forever!" He looked at his watch. "Its getting late, let's call it a day. Thanks man."

Hope agreed and started readying for bed.

The next day...

It was another brotiful day in the life of Snow Villiers, fourth year and nineteenth in his class of fifty. He woke to his favorite show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

The adventures of Twilight Sparkle, his favorite, never ceased to amaze him. It helped that she liked to party! He was thinking of getting her Cutie Mark on his right forearm. Or his butt, like her, which ever one came first.

After his show was over he hopped out of bed, grabbed his shave and shower kits, and went down the hall to the dorm bathroom. Snow lived in Dorm 08, the third and fourth year male dorm. It was medium sized and a bit cluttered with sixty men at full capacity.

With six showers and as many sinks it was a bit of a hassle for anyone else to get a shave in the morning, but not for Mr. 33 Cm! The other men quickly moved out of the way, giving the man some room to work with.

Snow stepped in front of the mirror, took out his razor, rubbed his long stubble, promptly went "pfft" and threw the razor away. Why mess with perfection?

Taking his shower stall, the third on the right, he cleaned until he sparkled. Wrapping himself in his towel, he returned to his room. He dryed himself, removing any traces of body glitter he had on him from last night. Serah's idea. Something about vampires. Very kinky.

He put on his classic grey trenchcoat over a black V-neck shirt, a pair of cargo pants, his heavy black boots, and the bro crown, his beanie. He never left anywhere without it. He got from an old friend named Daisukenojo Bito, or Beat, back when they got in all sorts of trouble. When he moved away, Beat gave him his old one. His favorite color was teal. Favorite food? Tonkotsu ramen, salted to taste. Favorite pokémon? Slowbro, the bro pokémon.

He left the dorm and headed for breakfast. The lunchhall was open so Serah would be cooking. Serah was the chef in the family, Lightning was the dishwasher. Not that Lightning was a bad cook, but she cleaned a mean whisk.

Sure enough, she had a massive pile of pancakes awaited him. He thanked her and chowed down, wondering how a guy like him ever got a girl like her. Then he remembered the scar on neck from that fight.

Serah Farron was a second year and member of the archery club. Her outfit consisted of a plaid skirt with a white top, black stockings, and simple mules. She was known for having fanciful stories about "The Future" involving Cocoon falling. A complete impossibility. Her favorite color was pink. Favorite food? Strawberry shortcake. Favorite pokémon? Luvdisc, although she was confused that it didn't evolve into Alomomola.

When he finished Serah was still eating. "Thanks babe, you're the sweetest."

She smiled. It always warmed his heart when she did that. "It was nothing, really," She was modest, "I got the Rolanberries from my last trip."

Snow was impressed. "Oh yeah? Never tasted anything like that." He was the only one who believed her. Lightning would listen, but never got into it.

They continued talking as Hope watched from afar. This was the guy that earned Lightning's respect? He looked way too brutish. But Hope knew looks were deceiving. This guy probably was a genius or smooth talker. He moved over to their table.

"Oh hi there," said Serah cheerfully "do you want some pancakes? We've got plenty of ingredients."

"Yeah, come on, take a seat bro!" Said Snow

"I guess." Hope took a seat as Serah got up and prepared another batch.

"So, you smelled her awesome cooking and wanted some huh? Can't say I blame ya." His laughter was booming.

"Actually, I have some questions."

Snow laughed again. "Sorry bro, I'm not too great a tutor, so Serahs' the one you want."

"No, I... uh. Well yesterday with Lightning."

Snow face became somber and Serah spilled some batter on the counter.

"No... you're too young kid." Snow was as serious as he had ever been. "The Farron Challenge would break you."

"Farron Challenge?" Asked Hope.

Snow's eyes grew distant, the coffee cup in his hand breaking under his grip.

"Now you've done it!" Screamed Serah, "you've made him have a flashback!"

"I didn't mean to!" Hope tried to reconcile. He hid underneath the table.

"It all started when..." began Snow.

Serah dropped her batter and quickly embraced Snow. "Its okay... I'm here now. You never have to again." She held tightly to him.

Snow eased out of his flashback and Hope came out from under the table to find Serah over him.

"Don't talk about the Farron Challenge around him! He's still traumatized!" She chastised, "you're Hope then? I'm Serah and you must know Snow if you're asking him." She extended a hand to help him up.

"Yeah. I'm Hope." He was a tad shaken at how scary Serah was when she was mad. She'd be a great teacher. He looked at Snow, who was cleaning up the shards of his coffee mug, and wondered what happened there.

Serah was cleaning the pancake batter off the floor and counter. "Lightning told me all about you last night and, while I think its kind of her to give you a chance, it isn't very smart of you to take it." It felt like he was being lectured.

"What's the Farron Challenge?"

"Well if you really want to know... the Farron Challenge is Lightning's way of driving off guys. She gives every boy that comes to her a chance to date her. Even guys that wouldn't stand a chance otherwise."

Hope felt a sinking feeling at the thought that he wasn't special, just another want to be suitor.

Serah continued. "She gives them a certain amount of time to preform a series of tasks to impress her. If they accomplish all the tasks, she holds true to her word and dates them. If they don't, then she won't even give them the time of day."

"So what are the tasks?"

"Truth is, I don't know. Most guys know about the Challenge and avoid her, so there hasn't been any recently."

"What about Snow?"

"Snow had to fight a giant tortoise, among other things. He doesn't like to talk about it, and I wasn't there so..."

Great. Hope was going into this completely blind and the one person who had completed it was suffering from it. But he really wanted Lightning.

"Well, there are two people who've completed the Farron Challenge."

Hope's spirit soared. There was a chance after all! Maybe those two guys would be able to help him. "There is? Who were those guys?"

"Well if by 'guys' you mean one man and one woman then..."

**A/N:**

What? Like I would just tell you. As if, readers.

I wasn't planning on updating this weekend, but then the idea smacked me in the face.

I'm being asked to include characters from other Final Fantasies and Kingdom Hearts. What do you guys want? Would you like to see more FF and KH characters? Please tell me. If enough people ask for them I'll put them in.

Personally, I wouldn't mind some other characters. There's plenty of room for more, but I want to finish the "Farron Challenge" part before then.

Lastly, if you've got any ideas for the "Farron Challenge" tell me. I already have mine, but if there's anything really sick and twisted you want to see, tell me. I welcome a good laugh.


	5. Chapter 5

"The first one was Fang, I remember because Lightning freaked out!" Serah started laughing, "she was like 'what the hell do you think you're doing?' And Fang was like 'I'm gettin' some exercise!' It was so funny!"

Hope was confused. "Does that mean Fang is lesbian?" He asked.

"I don't know, but she is super tough. She didn't even take Light out. She said that it was another victory for her."

He never knew Fang had taken the Farron Challenge. But then again, he didn't know Fang too well. He did know that she was close to Vanille, so maybe she would help him. However, he did want to know who the second person was, just in case.

"And the second?"

"Sadly, I don't know," her head lowered, "all I know was that he was a he. It was when I was still in my other school"

Snow spoke up. "I know who might know. He's been here forever. He goes by 'Funky Student.' And he knows everything about this place and everyone here."

"So where can I find him?"

"Sorry bro, but Funky won't be here today. See his classes are different from ours. Today he's out on a trip."

"Oh," Hope was a bit let down, "but if I can find Fang..."

The morning bell rung. It was time for them to begin morning chores back in dorm. If he wasn't back before the next bell he'd be in trouble.

Hope sighed. "Thank you for your help." He said to Serah and Snow then headed for his dorm.

"He's so dead." said Serah. She had finished cleaning the kitchen area and was waiting on Snow.

"Yeah," Snow nodded in agreement, "but at least he was warned. I didn't know I'd have to do anything for you." He got up and they headed for her dorm.

"But aren't you happy you did?"

He put a hand to his abdomen. "Of course, but I think we'd be a little better if I still had both of my kidneys."

Later that morning...

Hope met Lightning at her usual spot in the courtyard. It was a cool morning, the kind with dewdrops on the grass. It was brimming with potential, as was he.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked. Her friends were a little further off, out of hearing range.

"Yes." Hope replied, a look of determination on his face. He wasn't backing out before he even started.

"Okay then. Your task is to bring me Jihl Nabaat's glasses. You have until tomorrow."

Hope tried his hardest to hold his suprise. "Alright. I can do that."

Lightning quietly went back to her friends while Hope went to look for Fang. His mind was in a frenzy. How was he going to get the glasses of the most powerful student on campus? How was he going to do it by tomorrow? Was he supposed to steal them? What if he got caught?

Vanille told herself she was okay. Sure, her best friend who she really cared about was playing a game to impress a girl that would likely break his heart and crush his spirit, but that didn't stop her. She had to keep her dream alive, something to look forward to. She had to try. She noticed Hope was walking around the courtyard in circles.

She caught up with him and started walking alongside him. "Heya, Hope! Another beautiful morning huh?" She tried to be cheery as normal, but it felt like she overdid it.

"Oh thank you Vanille!" He nearly squealed, "where's Fang?" Fang could help him through this! His luck was looking up!

Vanille thought for a moment then said, "Fang's not here today. She's at a competition at... what was it? Gekkoukan? She won't be back until tomorrow."

"Oh." And his luck shot straight down. But there was still a chance. "Vanille, do you know anything about the Farron Challenge?"

"Hmm. I know that Fang completed it. But not much else."

There went that idea. There was no one else to ask for information that he could think of. He thanked her.

"You're welcome, but you know we're walking in circles right?"

Hope stopped as he realized he was. "Thanks again Vanille. That happens all the time."

After class...

Hope spent the rest of the day finding anything he thought would be useful for his task. Dorm layouts, rules, schedules, bits of info, and other assorted papers were laid out on the corner table of his room.

Radgar was curious, as anyone would be if they saw their roomate with so much information about a girl's dorm as Hope did. "So... Hope. Are you planning a panty raid or something?"

"No." Hope replied without looking up.

"I'm cool if that's what it is. You can tell me." He took a peek over Hope's shoulder. There was a floor plan with arrows pointing in many different directions.

"It isn't. All this is for my task. I have to steal Jihl's glasses and give them to Lightning by morning."

Radgar gasped. "Oh wow. It's like impossible to get into the girl dorms without getting caught."

"I know. It's going to be even harder tonight." On the weekend, students didn't have to go to bed at the usual 10:00 pm, they were allowed to stay up until 2:00 am.

"What's your plan then?"

"Well," he started, "Jihl's dorm is 06 Upper. It has doors on both the North and South entryways that lead to 06 Lower and the counseling offices. The entry also has stairs on both sides that lead into Upper." He showed Radgar the floor plan that proved his point. "I can't just walk in, obviously. If I go in the South way, I'll be in the wrong bay. I'd have to cross the dayroom to get to the other side. If I use the North entry, I'll end up next to the staff office and get thrown out for sure."

Radgar nodded, assuring Hope that he understood.

"But, I found out that the dorm will be having a fire drill at 12:30," he showed Radgar a fire drill schedule, "during that time the fire doors to the entire dorm will be open. Normally when a fire door is opened, it will sound off an alarm. That's why I can't just open one of them."

"You can't sneak in during the drill either," Radgar noted, "the whole dorm will be out there having roll call."

"Yep. But I found out that if the fire doors stay open after the alarm is triggered, like if they get jammed, the alarm won't go off again. The door I have to get through is the one on North bay. You know, the one with the stairs leading up?"

"Yeah. It's on the outside, the metal one." He confirmed.

"If I can get in there, Jihl's room is the first one on the left. It's easy after that. I'll just go out the same way."

"Okay, but how are you going to keep that door open?"

"I asked a girl in Upper to place something there. She was really happy and said something about 'shipping.' I think that covers it."

Radgar was impressed. "Great plan. I can make sure that no one knows that you left, too."

"Thanks," said Hope "I forgot about that. I think I should get some sleep now. I want to be at my best tonight."

Radgar agreed and Hope went to bed.

At 12:30 on the dot, the fire alarm sounded off in 06. The girls lined up in the meeting area in a timely manner, and everyone was accounted for. The girls then headed back into dorm to resume their sleep. But one girl lagged behind just long enough for even the most groggy of ladies to return. She placed a small wooden block, henceforth named "Henry" between the door and the wall. She squealed in delight, her shipping fantasy was coming true!

At 1:00 exactly Hope was shaken awake by Radgar. He put on his shoes and jumped out the window without a word. He made his way silently to the dorm while keeping to the shadows.

As he stepped the metal staircase he cursed under his breath. He was directly under the lamp that lit the nearby walkway and each of his steps seemed to echo forever.

He found Henry lodged in place and thanked Eden for that. He opened the door and peeked inside. The hallway was short, turning into a much longer one. The "Exit" sign above gave the area an eerie green glow. He spotted his target, the door marked with her name.

Stepping inside, he made no noise. He was closing the door, when Henry came loose! Hope started panicking. He was stuck! The alarm would ring if he went out this way, and the other would get him caught for sure!

He took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. It didn't work too well. He made up a plan. Since he was stuck anyway, he decided to keep going. If he got the glasses he would make a break for it out the fire escape. If he didn't...

He moved and put his ear to Jihl's door. He heard only soft breathing. She was asleep. He gave a sigh of relief and opened the door. He couldn't see well, the room's curtains blocked the outside light, he could make out little. Then he saw them! There, on her bedside table!

The bed was opposite the door. He could see the form of Jihl asleep in the green light from the hall. He inched his way little by little toward her table. His prize was in sight! Next to the table, he reached out to take them. When his hand wrapped around them, he was grabbed!

"Aha!" Jihl said in a voice that was all too loud. With Hope by the hand, she sprung from her bed, fully awake. "Tell me, little boy, what you are doing here."

With her hair a bit of a mess, her pink nightie all in a bunch, he swore she wore blue with stripes, for him this was incredibly sexy and terrifying at the same time.

"I... I uh," Hope couldn't speak. He knew he was screwed.

"Speak, Hope Estheim."

A/N:

There ain't no time for that! I have to see what happens to Hope!


	6. Chapter 6

Hope noticed two things while his wrist was firmly grasped by Jihl's. First, she had amazingly soft hands! Second, the door to her room was shut, so it was likely no one had heard her though the thick walls. Third, she had a baton in her free hand and it was very close to his face.

"Now, Mr. Estheim what are you doing in my room?" Said Jihl with a low growl.

Hope was about to answer when he was interrupted. "No, wait. Lightning sent you didn't she?" She giggled. "You're doing the Farron Challenge?"

He nodded and she let him go. "Take a seat." She motioned toward her bed. "You know, you aren't the first one to try this. You also aren't the first one to be expelled for this."

He sat down and steeled himself for what was to come. sadly though , Hope couldn't learn Steelguard.

"Let's see... breaking into a female dorm, being out after curfew, attempting to steal," she counted off on her fingers, "my, my, Mr. Estheim, you've broken quite a few rules tonight."

He clenched his fists. She was just playing with him!

"Tell me, what will I do with you?" She purred, "I can't let you get away with this. But let me tell you a secret. Lightning and I are working together. You see, if Lightning doesn't like someone, she sends them on this task and I get them expelled."

Hope was furious. So it was a trick the whole time?

"Don't make that face. It just so happens that Lightning gave her approval." She opened her drawer and pulled out a pair of glasses that were the same as the ones on her table. "That means you're free to go, but if you break any more rules tonight, I'll report you."

She handed him the glasses and pointed at her window. "If Lightning and I were to fight, the student body would suffer as a whole. We are actually friends, even if we don't agree on some things. Now leave."

Hope left through the window, leading him to the fire escape where he picked up Henry and headed back to dorm. He was a little dazed, but filled with pride.

As he climbed through his window, Radgar was there with a grin that grew wider and wider.

"So... what color were they?" He asked eagerly.

"They were blue with white stripes." Hope replied.

"Aw sweet! You saw them!"

Hope slept well that night.

The next morning...

Hope handed Jihl's glasses to Lightning. He was beaming with pride.

"Not bad." She said. "Most people just end up expelled, glad to see you made it." There was no trace of a smile or anything on her face, it was just business.

"Now for your next task. You know Pulse?"

Hope nodded. Everyone knew Pulse. It was the planet that Cocoon floated above. He knew that at one time there was a war, but since then the worlds made peace with each other. Now it was a giant nature perserve.

"Well, there's a pair of animals down there, a Behemoth King and a Megistotherian. I hear that they can breed together. So here's your task: make them fall in love and mate. You have until 9 p.m. tomorrow." She handed him a small stack of papers. "This is information on the two, your ticket, and a few other things. The next airship to Pulse leaves in about a hour."

She walked away as if nothing had happened. Leaving Hope to panic again.

A/N:

I ship Behemoth King and Megistotherian. (And apparently Lightning does too!) Don't flame me, it's what I believe in. If anyone knows the name of this ship I'd love to know.

To Forever Wishing: I'm sorry, that flashback wasn't yours, it was Lightning's. But if you want a dramatic backstory you can tell me and I'll see what I can do. I promise not to cry.

Thank you to my readers and reviewers (who I hope are reading) I couldn't do it without you guys and I hope you continue to do both!

P.S. I know Twilight Sparkle doesn't care too much for parties, but Snow doesn't!


	7. Chapter 7

Hope was freaking out again, as he is wont to. He didn't know what a Megisomething was, how was he supposed to get it to breed? He made his way back to dorm to pack. Lightning said he had until tomarrow night, so he took it as a sign he was going to be staying overnight.

He entered the dorm dayroom, which for some reason had all of it's couches moved from their usual positions. From somewhere down West bay he heard a call of "Go!" Suddenly, there was the sound of running and someone screamed "I'm a dirty little schoolgirl!" Before two people on office chairs, shirtless, and armed with brooms, slammed into one another.

"Did you see that!" One of the guys shouted.

"Aw hell yeah! I think he bent the broom this time!" Yelled another.

Sure enough, the cheap, plastic, yellow broom lay twisted on the floor. The boys had a moment of silence to honor the fallen cleaning tool. Hope was too confounded to ask any questions, instead he headed straight to his room where Radgar was busy fixing a chair.

"What the hell are they doing out there?" Hope asked while opening his bedside locker.

"Chair Jousting." Radgar replied without skipping a beat.

"What?" He was picking out his clothes. He needed something tough.

"Don't you know? It's been going on every weekend for like, ever." He was busy replacing a screw, sorting through the ones he had in stock for the right fit.

"I've never heard of it." The sound of the participants was clear once more.

"Eat your peas and carrots!" Came a voice from the hallway.

"You should try it. It's awesome." Radgar shook the seat of his chair, checking for tightness.

"Id rather not. Why are they shirtless?" He pulled out a change of clothes that was deemed suitable and placed them into a small bag. Now... what would be important? The town of Oerba was nearby, according to the pamplet Lightning gave him, so he wouldn't need any camping supplies...

"The fabric of a shirt does nothing to soften the impact of a broom, so I think it's a personal choice." He was adjusting the tightness of his wheels. Too much would lower speed and power. Too loose would send him spiraling out of control on collision.

"So then, what's all the yelling for?" He decided to take his boomerang, a few snacks, Henry, and some personal items. He wouldn't need anything much if there was a town nearby, and the Archylte Steppe was just a large nature preserve, so it wasn't like he'd be roughing it. The animals were supposed to be peaceful there too.

"Battle cries." He was working on the back of the chair now. It had some sort of spine that allowed it to bend for reclining. If he could fine tune the amount of bendage, it would absorb part of the blow.

Hope had finished packing and was looking over Radgar's work on his chair. It had green fabric covering, a metal base with four wheels, and "Zack F." written in permanent marker on the back.

"Finished," said Radgar, "this is my custom model, the Kelvin."

Hope backed slowly out of the room as Radgar started explaining the specs on his chair.

He had left the dorm when his phone started beeping. It was a text from Vanille. She had heard he was going to Oerba and wanted to come.

A/N:

I read through my last two chapters and I'm not happy. It all seemed too rushed. I'm also not going into detail enough, so much that even I'm confused. So starting from here on out, I'm going to write in smaller chunks with more focus on one character each chapter. That way I can put more detail into one idea rather than having one big mess. I'll also be working with smaller chapters, so updates should come faster.

Basically, more chapters, less words, quicker updates, better quality.

To Forever Wishing: That's something I can work with, but Pokémon don't actually exist in this world. I have a really good idea in mind though, so don't worry!

Lastly, I think Hope and Lightning need a few more roomates. Nothing is wrong with Maria and Radgar, but with a room that's supposed to have six to eight people staying, it's weird to only ever see two. So here it is: I need four OCs, two male, two female. Please include the usual, favorite food, clothing, Pokémon, etc... along with a short dialogue sample and anything else you wish for me to note.

I will accept OCs by PM first. Any sent to me by review will be considered, but are second to those I receive properly. Spelling and grammar are awesome and save lives! Punctuation is cool, but that's for losers. You have one week. Any character that blows my mind will be added before then.

Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. I hope you'll continue to do both.


	8. Chapter 8

The War of Transgression, 500 years ago, began quite suddenly by an attack on the outer shell of Cocoon from an unknown source. Some spectulate that the Eidolon Ifrit with help from an unknown l'cie were responsible for the attack. However, historical records from that period show that a fal'Cie, much less an Eidolon or l'cie, could not damage the shell of Cocoon. One fact that could be confirmed was that Pulse shot first.

Following the swift and decisive victory of Cocoon over the Pulsian invaders, peace talks were held. Seeing as many of their major cities near Cocoon were destroyed soon after the start of the war, the people of Pulse agreed on the condition that their remaining cities would be spared.

Pulse worked to restore its once beautiful cities to no avail. The areas had been overrun with all manner of beasts. Furthermore, the fal'Cie that had once watched over the people had lost control of themselves, turning any remaining survivors into l'Cie with nearly impossible Foci. The strongest of these l'Cie became horrible Cieth identified as Undying, who made efforts to repopulate the areas a much more challenging task.

People flocked to the more populated sections of Pulse seeking refuge. This lead to the swift decline of civilization near Cocoon. As a result, much of Gran Pulse's Eastern hemisphere is a nature preserve, made to show the cost of war between the two worlds. Only a few hardy settlements, such as the Oerba, remain.

Following the war, Cocoon fell into a state of economic collapse from the high cost of salvaging the outer shell. In addition, feuding city-states were on the verge of war amongst themselves. But, with help from the fal'Cie Eden, Cocoon's political problems were soon resolved.

Relations were rough at first, with the citizens of Cocoon fearing another attack from the wildmen of Pulse. So much so that many wished for the Sanctum fal'Cie to bring Cocoon into an age of isolation.

The motion was nearly complete when the story of a man from Cocoon and a woman from Pulse who fell in love reached the Primarch's ears. Conflicted, she took the story to the fal'Cie Eden for advice. Upon hearing her words, the fal'Cie agreed that Cocoon should remain open because, even if Cocoon was isolated from the lower world, love would find it's way. The story is now celebrated as one of Cocoon's finest works and has been adapted into the play known as "Maria and Draco".

Since then, the worlds have existed peacefully. Cocoon imports many of Pulse's natural resources, while Pulse has seen Cocoon rise to become a symbol of status, a place where many Pulsians wish to live or visit in their lifetime. This has caused Cocoon's tourist revenue to increase dramatically in the past few decades.

In additon, the nature preserves of Pulse have become a site of great scientific interest to researchers because of its vast variety of flora and fauna that appeared after the war. Studies show that these lifeforms are constantly evolving in ways that were once unheard of. A popular video game series has been based around these, and many other, of Pulse's native species.

Lastly, thanks to the combined efforts of Cocoon and Pulse, gates leading to other universes, or Worlds as they are commonly known, have been discovered. Little is known of these gates, despite their increasing use, except that an ancient civilization that dates to before the existance of Cocoon is the likely source.

"That's it." Maria declared proudly to herself. She had been writing her report on the the effects of the War of Transgression all morning and was finally done.

**A/N:**

It really bugged me that Hope was just going off to Pulse (which in universe is forbidden, of course.) like it's no big deal. So I went through and thought this up. I think it's a pretty nice explaination myself. Just think of the Final Fantasy XIII universe as the result of Eden suggesting Cocoon going into isolation and ignoring Draco and Maria's love.

Q: But what about one or more of "main characters"? They were pretty important! And they were turned into "important plot aspect" after "important event"!

A: Pfft, a fal'Cie did it. Probably Ultima, he's a real jerk.

No, I'll get to that. This is just why Hope can go to Pulse, instead of Cocoon randomly deciding to come out of isolation. It's no different to him then a hike in the woods is to us.


	9. Chapter 9

Lightning was busy drawing an armored Zebstrika robot that would release rose petals while in battle. She was satisfied with the completion of Hope's first task. It was nice to see someone who didn't chicken out of the challenge, but he still had a ways to go.

Maria was working on a report, quiet as usual and, thanks to her Duskull Candy headphones, couldn't hear a thing. She bobbed her head with the beat, blissfully unaware.

Jihl stepped through the the door into Lightning's room with her typical stride. She was in a good mood, having met Lightning's newest suitor. Finding Lightning working at her desk, she approached her. "Good morning Light," she said, "I see you're going for the younger ones these days."

Lightning laughed. "You know I give each and every one of them a chance, no matter what their age." She replied without looking up from her drawing.

"Yes. But this one, Hope. Why did you send him to me last night? I'm certain you have other methods of dealing with such...matters."

"I wanted to see if he could do it, and he did." She thought about adding a sword that the Zebstrika robot would carry in its mouth. Or maybe a frying pan.

"I see." Jihl knew better than that. Lightning was hiding it again. "Or perhaps you sent him for my approval?"

Lightning stopped drawing. Only briefly, but long enough for Jihl to notice. "Ah," she cooed, "so it is like that. You see him as yourself. The girl who got rejected without even the slightest chance. That's really bad for you. See, I knew this guy who was another's 'living legacy' or something, and he ended up a pizza delivery boy. A very cute one, but still."

"No." She replied flatly, trying to keep her cool. But Jihl could see through that facade, and she knew it.

"You know, I am your friend, and if it still bothers you, I'm always here to talk." Jihl wrapped her arms around Lightning's waist. It was a troubling subject for both of them, but if Lightning was still lamenting him...then she would be there. Lightning shifted around in her chair enough to hug Jihl back.

"That's it." Maria declared proudly to herself. She had been writing her report on the effects of the War of Transgression all morning and was finally done.

She took off her headphones and turning to read Lightning her report, she saw Lightning rubbing her face into Jihl's breasts. "Oh Eden!" She screamed, turning bright red and dropping her work.

"ImsosorryIdidntmeanto!!" Maria squealed and ran out of the room.

Jihl stood with a suprised look on her face. This wasn't the first time someone had done that, but it certainly was the loudest.

"Did someone see me sobbing into your breasts thinking we were lesbians again?" Asked Lightning, looking up at Jihl.

She nodded.

"Damn. Somedays I think we should just go for it so people would stop doing that. I'll talk to her later."

Jihl shook her head. "Now back to what I was saying, you can't go on with this whole 'Farron challenge' thing. Just because you can't deal with your own rejection, doesn't make it okay to make people fight giant turtles."

"Tortoises." Lightning corrected.

"It doesn't matter. It isn't okay to make people do things because you can't say no. Now, I have to go before that girl starts a riot. Why don't you talk to her later on? It helps if you share your problems with others, and it'll make it less awkward."

Lightning agreed and Jihl left. Stuck up, pretentious, and nosey, that was Jihl. But at the same time, she was Lightning's only friend that stuck with her through it all. She got up and went to look for Maria.

**A/N:**

Very short, I know. But I hope it gives you an idea of Jihl and Lightning's relationship, for the time being. Or maybe it confuses you more?

I'm sorry if you were expecting to see some hot Meglowhatsit on Behemoth action today, but this was really bugging me everytime I tried to write, so I did it.

In regards to the hot action, I'm about a fourth of the way finished with it, and wow. Just wow. I'm dancing on the line between Crack and Shrooms. It'll be up late tomorrow.


	10. Chapter 10

"Gee, that trip sure took a while!" said Vanille, wiping her brow.

"I know!" replied a weary Hope, "it felt like we were on that airship for like a month and a half... hard to believe its only been about an hour."

"I know, right?"

Hope and Vanille were having a rest on the Archylte Steppe after their long voyage. A thin veil of morning mist covered the area and spots of flowers struggled to stay visible amist a sea of green that spread far as the eye could see.

Suddenly!

Hope found himself in a circular, (or what appeared to be circular) battlefield facing three of the maddest Gorgonopsi he had ever seen and a beast that he only saw in books and news reports where people had been mauled by them: a Behemoth King.

Or Queen, judging by it's nethers.

Hope stared in awe at the creature in front of him, in all its slobbering, bloodthristy, and violent glory. It was truly a marvel to behold as she split one of the smaller beasts in five using wicked claws and shaking another in its vicelike maw, its yelps of pain doing nothing to deter the Behemoth.

The shock from seeing the Behemoth tear apart two living creatures was met with equal oppisition when he turned toward Vanille, who had out a fishing pole. She was shaking her rump in a fashion that would be appealing to one if they were behind her, but sadly not in a way that would allow said person to see her "goods".

"Well don't just stand there!" she screamed, still wagging her behind the way a happy dog would. Not at all like a girl who was facing a monster ten times her size with a fishing pole.

Hope realized he had his boomerang out. Strange, considering it was in his bag and there was not a single place in his kakki shorts he could have placed it.

"What's going on here?" he asked as he got into his Boomerang Chucking Stance®.

"Its a battle Hope! Get into position!"

The Behemoth tossed away the tattered remains of the second Gorgonopsid and advanced on the third.

"Let's just run away!" cried a fearful Hope as the valiant Gorgonopsid fell in a blaze of glory.

"We can't! The Fal'cie Gilgamesh prevents it! We must fight like men!"

The Behemoth Queen reared round to look Hope straight in the eye. He stumbled from a great roar that left fresh bits of Gorgonopsid on his face.

"UH! OHHHH! EEP!" Vanille squealed and groaned in a way that would make most people embarassed if they had other people in the same room while listening, while she swung her fishing pole at the beast, the fishing line apparently going through it with no resistance.

Hope got to his feet while the Behemoth very graciously backed away. They may be animals, but damn if they aren't the most well mannered of things.

Vanille had stopped attacking for some reason while Hope chucked his boomerang with all his might! Which is to say, very little. It bounced much like it would if thrown against a wall or the hide of a Behemoth. Though this didn't stop Hope from trying four more times before having to rest.

Vanille had started flailing her arms about while moaning again. "I'm not all sunshine and rainbows!" she yelled for some odd reason.

The Behemoth charged at Hope with murder in its eyes, her teeth flashing from a stray sunbeam. She reared up and slashed the air where he had been only moments ago.

Hope had slowly shuffled about a meter over while waiting for a chance to attack again. Sure it wasn't an awesome backflip with a a gunshot in the middle, but it was what he had to work with.

A few minutes later...

Hope knew the battle was futile. They had been fighting way past the point where five stars was possible, and the potions and Phoenix downs Vanille was pulling out of nowhere couldn't possibly last forever, could they?

All of his will to fight was being drained away when out of the blue...

"Sora! I'll help you!" a high squeaky voice announced. The three turned to spot a small, black hooded figure. Did the hood have... mouse ears?

"Whoops!" the figure exclaimed, "sorry guys, wrong world!"

There was a flash of light, and it was gone.

Once again, as the spirit of life was ebbing away from Hope...

Out of seemingly nowhere a manly figure dropped from the sky shouting something and then "FIST!" as it dropped down on the Behemoth's skull with enough force to leave a small crater.

"Did somebody call a hero!" came the manly voice of a man wearing a long grey trenchcoat from behind a black mask that covered the area around his eyes but not the blonde stubble of the rest of his face.

"OHMYANIMA!" Vanille squealed in such a high pitch that the Behemoth howled in pain while other Gorganopsi and other nearby animals followed. "Its The Snowman!"

"The who?" asked a befuddled Hope.

"I don't listen to that kind of music, silly!" she replied as The Snowman preceeded to punch the Behemoth in the face.

"The Snowman is a great hero who always saves the pretty girls (and boys) from harm! He wears a mask to protect his secret identity and loved ones from harm! He has a whole crew of super heroes called NORA too!"

The Snowman had somehow gotten the Behemoth into a headlock and was playing "got your nose" with it.

"Vanille, you know that's clearly Snow, right? I mean, I met him like two days ago but I can tell its him. Look at his beanie and coat, no one dresses like that. His name even has "Snow" in it!"

"NO! We must never know the man behind the mask!"

"But-"

"Must. Never. Know."

He sighed, "Fine."

The Snowman grew tired of playing with the Behemoth and decided to suplex it SO hard it faded into nothingness. That may seem really manly, but there was once a man who suplexed a train SO hard it faded from existance.

And so the battle was won. Vanille did a little skip and folded up her pole, The Snowman clenched his fist in furious rage toward the heavens, and Hope quietly slippped his boomerang into his shorts. The only thing that would have made the moment better would be an awesome victory jingle that people would grow to love across twelve versions, but alas, there was no jingle jangle jingle.

**A/N:**

This was my first fight on the Steppe. Same party, same monsters. I wasn't expecting them to run around the place so it caught me by suprise.

You win no points for guessing The Snowman's true identity. Mostly because he may not be who you think he is, or even if he's a he.

Thanks to the people who were crazy enough to wait a month and a half for this. That's why its so crazy awesome!


	11. Chapter 11

And so, the Snowman left without a word, Vanille and Hope continued on their quest to create an abomination of nature.

"In short, the fal'Cie Gilgamesh creates a small space where we battle. There isn't any obstacles or anything so it all comes down to whoever is the better fighter. He even grades them and leaves behind special aerosols for those who do win but fight really badly." Vanille explained to a Hope who was confused about the battle moments ago.

He was extra thankful that the fal'Cie also healed his wounds, as he had been bitten, slashed, and disemboweled more times than he could count and the scars would be ugly. Unless it was a perfect cut across his face or a small X on his cheek, that would make him edgy and dangerous. Not dying was a plus too.

"So this happens all the time? On Pulse and Cocoon?" he asked. Having never been in a fight before, Hope was suprised that it was so formal. It was like something out of Finest Fantasy X, the game based off of Yuna and her Guardians' quest to defeat Sin and save Spira, where they would take turns attacking. Even the heroes themselves said that it was highly accurate to the real thing.

"Yep, except when it doesn't or someone's going to die." she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"When it doesn't?"

"Umhmm. Sometimes Gilgamesh doesn't do anything, like when someone gets into a fight or when its their time to die. He doesn't get involved in things like that. In fact, no one ever dies in a fal'Cie battle!" She crossed her arms. "They just respawn somewhere else."

Sure enough, in the distance a pack of Gorgonopsi were being pursued by a Behemoth.

Hope had an aerosol marked "Aegisol" and a chipped fang in his pocket that he pulled from a Gorgonopsid. He figured he could sell it on the Internet. Or he could tape it to his boomerang and make it stronger or something. It made him wonder if there was a Gorgonopsid out there missing a tooth.

They continued on their merry way and it was particularly quiet, except for the crunching of grass and a mellow instrumental in the background.

"I hear, that if you collect a bunch of stuff from Pulse and Cocoon, like your tooth, you get a gold trophy! Its quite an acheivement, don't you think?" Vanille attempted to make conversation.

"Who would be stupid enough to collect random things from Cocoon and Pulse for a trophy? It would take forever."

Hope looked over his shoulder at Cocoon. The massive gap in the outer shell drew his attention. He'd never seen it from outside before. It was like some celestial being took a bite out of it. He'd heard of what happened to Midgar during the Jenova War, the ruiniation of the World of Balance, Sin's attacks on Spira, but knowing that something like that happened on his own world sent a chill up his spine.

For some reason, he had a feeling that he would have to save Pulse from falling, and that he would only have a few days to do so.

Trying to shake the thought from his mind, he decided to ask Vanille what the Pulsian view of the War of Transgression was. He knew Cocoon's view on the subject was, but he figured knowing Pulse's side would ease his mind.

"Well the people of Cocoon say it was an unprovoked attack that started it all, but what really happened was the Palumporom Sparklers beat the Haerii Dashers in a Blitzball match before the finals in Besaid against the Goers. The fans were a little drunk and crazy and before you know it, a quarter of Cocoon's been blasted to Anima knows where. Cocoon still makes a big deal of it, but down here we just point to Cocoon and remind them that the Goers won the game."

As Hope took another look at Cocoon, he realized that he had been going south all this time when he was supposed to be headed north. This would mean about two minutes of backtracking!

Suddenly, there was fog from nowhere! Thick, white, sheets of fog! There was so much fog all they could see was more fog! There was truly no other way to describe this fog other than there was a lot of it, like if the fog fal'Cie, Fogga, sprung a leak or something.

"Vanille? Where did this fog come from?" Hope asked, as fog appearing from the void was beyond the grasp of his knowledge.

She stopped and put her hands on her hips, as if dissatisfied. "Oh that pesky ol' fog! Its always here. Never goes away. The sun doesn't set here either."

"Really!" The concept of a never ending day was as alien to Hope as it would be to anyone who experienced day/night cycles.

"Yep. The closest thing to night here is an eclipse from the fal'Cie Fenir. And that only happens about every thousand years. It'll be a couple more years before there's night here, according to the prophecy. Some researchers are building weather controling machines on the other side of the steppe."

"How's that going?"

"The fal'Cie Typhon keeps sneezing and blowing them away, the different weather attracts dangerous creatures, and its really not a very good system."

There was the sound of bubbling coming from around them. As bubbling is not a natural sound on grasslands, or at least not any that Hope was familliar with, it was his instinct to take the fastest path away from whatever was hidden in the fog.

Tripping over what must have been a cruel joke from the rock fal'Cie, Hope looked up from his grassy loft to see a yellow blob slithering by, bubbling all the while. More blobs, several of them merging to be come larger slimes. As he pulled himself up the amorphous forms had completely surrounded the two of them.

"Don't worry Hope, they won't attack unless we're too close!" Came the nearby voice of Vanille

In another twist of fate, likely from the fal'Cie Trollestia, little triangles with "!" in them appeared over each and every last one of the yellow creatures.

"Nevermind." she squeaked.

O-O-O-O

New trophies:

Instrument of Fate: Took the first steps toward challenging an unjust fate. Awarded for accepting the Farron Challenge.

Instrument of Dissent: Survived the Purge to confront a greater peril. Awarded for completing the first of Lightning's challenges.


End file.
